Personally, I'd aim for some Azonic Fusion mag's. They are lighter than my clipless pedals, and very grippy (I've never slipped with them in any conditions including riding in the snow and ice, with snow and ice on the pedal itself) and fairly cheap (can be had for 35$ shipped). Well worth the cost, IMO.

crank brothers are OK - they have pretty good customer service - I tried the egg beater and HATED them. - that is basically an egg with a platform around it.
do you still want to clip in? or do you want platform?

The local bike store got me into some Time Atac XS pedals and some Shimano MTB shoes.

The Time pedals have a wider base than most of the SPD pedals I’ve seen. After talking with them, they said that they were probably the best way to go. I’m putting them on and riding Saturday so I’ll let everyone know how well I like them.